units

AZA4480

Faculty of Arts

Monash University

Undergraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2013 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

print version

6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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LevelUndergraduate
FacultyFaculty of Arts
Organisational UnitSchool of Social Science, South Africa
OfferedSouth Africa First semester 2013 (Day)
South Africa Second semester 2013 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Dr Maria Damianova

Synopsis

The unit aims to expand students' conceptual understanding of the
principles and methods of psychological assessment. This includes the
notions of reliability and validity and contemporary methods used to
evaluate psychometric properties of instruments. Instruments for assessing
abilities and personality in various contexts, e.g., clinical, counselling,
neuropsychological, educational and organizational will be reviewed and
core practical skills in implementing these instruments and interpreting
results will be acquired.

Psychological testing and assessment in a multicultural and multilingual
societal context will be a core theme which will be addressed with reference
to the global and the South African context. Themes of cultural sensitivity,
fairness and bias will form an integral part of the academic discourse.
Competencies in interpreting and reporting psychological assessment
results and report writing skills will be developed through practical
assignments and case studies. An integrated approach to assessment,
incorporating psychometric and qualitative measures and techniques will fall
into the focus of the seminars and lectures.

Ethical principles, procedures and considerations in the implementation of
psychological assessment and use of results will be analysed and debated
against the backdrop of the historical heritage and contemporary
advancements in the ethical regulations of the psychology profession in
South Africa and other developing and developed countries.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the unit, students will be able to:

  1. appraise the theory and practice of psychological assessment.
  2. conduct psychological assessment in various contexts.
  3. interpret assessment results and report findings.
  4. discuss the ethical regulations and principles of psychological assessment
  5. apply an integrated approach to assessment encompassing the application of psychometric and qualitative methods, techniques and tools.

Assessment

Presentation on a selected topic: 20%
Assignment (assessment report): 20%
Examination: 60%

Chief examiner(s)

Contact hours

2 contact hours (face-to-face teaching)

10 hours for private study, including reading of prescribed and
recommended literature, review of and familiarisation with a wider range of
publications on the core content topics of the unit, work on assignments,
preparation for class discussions and presentations

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Prerequisites

Students must have completed successfully a Bachelor degree with Psychology
Major, and have achieved an average grade of minimum of 70% in core psychology
units at the third year level.

Co-requisites